Tang En ordered the news of Paul Gerrard's retirement to be strictly sealed. Other than him, Dunn, Kerslake, the team doctor, Fleming, and Professor Constantine, no one else was allowed to know about it. Even the players and other staff in the team were not allowed to know. Tang En also gave Paul Gerrard a heads up and told him not to announce his retirement until after the Champions League.
Gerrard expressed his understanding. It was a crucial moment for the team. There was no reason to affect the entire team's preparation for the match because of him alone.
In three days, the team would set off for Athens. This time, everyone was present. There were 22 players in the team, and no one was missing.
The other two, Chris Commons, who was on loan to Watford, and the goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev, who was back on loan to CSKA Moscow, received a red envelope from Nottingham Forest Football Club after their respective seasons ended. Inside was a ticket to the Champions League final.
Tang En did not know if the other clubs would give tickets to the players who were on loan and did not contribute to the team after they reached the Champions League final or similar important finals. He had not considered the other teams before. It was just a sudden thought that they should let those people feel the glory of the team. This was conducive to cultivating their team's cohesiveness and was also a way to win over people's hearts.
Sure enough, Chris Commons was very happy after receiving the ticket. Akinfeev, who was preparing for his vacation in Russia, also called to say that he would definitely watch the final when the time came.
Handing out tickets before the final seemed to have become a habit of Tang En's.
In addition to letting the club send tickets to the two players who were out of town, Tang En still had a lot of tickets waiting to be sent out.
Chris Gloria, who was in the United States, called Tang En to thank him for sending the tickets to the final. She said that she would definitely go no matter how busy she was and that it was her duty to support her friend.
※ ※ ※
Michael Bernard had just returned home after a day of work. Before he could change his shoes, he heard the doorbell ring.
"Mike," his wife, Fiona, called from the kitchen. "Go open the door."
"I'm at the door," Michael answered and turned to open the door.
A young man wearing a hat with the "FedEx" logo stood in front of him. "Mr. Michael Bernard?"
"That's me." Michael nodded.
"Your express mail." The young man took out a letter from his bag. "Please sign here."
Michael took the receipt, took out a pen, wrote his name on it, and handed it back. The young man handed the envelope to Michael and left.
Michael opened the package, and a red envelope appeared in front of him. It was very familiar, because he had received this thing for two years in a row.
Just because it looked familiar did not mean that he was not surprised. Michael was still surprised when he opened the envelope and found that it was a Champions League final ticket. He thought that time had turned back and today was one year ago.
He picked up the ticket from the table and checked the time. That's right, it was 2007. If that was the case …
That kid had led the team to the Champions League final two years in a row?
Michael looked up at the ceiling.
What came to his mind was the scene of the Forest team advancing to the Champions League final twenty-seven years ago. He had been away from England for three years. He did not know what the situation was like now and could not imagine it.
Football …
He had stopped caring about these things a long time ago. Now all that was left of football were his old memories. He did not watch football games or read football news reports. He did not even know where Nottingham Forest was ranked in the English Premier League. When his old friends in Nottingham occasionally called him, they would never talk about anything related to football or Nottingham Forest.
Today, he was no longer a fanatical fan, but a white-collar worker in a suit and leather shoes who worked in an energy company. He worked from nine to five every day and lived a simple life of company and family.
It had been three years. He was used to it and did not feel bad about it. Having lost his son, he now hoped to spend time with his wife and make up for his past mistakes.
He had no other thoughts. This was life, a life.
Although he thought so, he still picked up the ticket and looked at it carefully.
The ticket had a very eye-catching Champions League five-star logo. It was very familiar. It was like this twenty-seven years ago, and it was still like this twenty-seven years later.
People said that the team that won the championship engraved its name on the glittering silver championship trophy. He, on the other hand, engraved his youth on it.
He shook the envelope and found that there was nothing but the ticket. There was not a word of greeting, and he had never called. The friendship between him and Tony Twain seemed to be only this ticket. If one day, in a certain season, the Forest team did not reach the Champions League final, he probably would not even have this ticket.
Friends needed to be maintained with care. Without contact for a long time, even the best of friendships would slowly fade. Michael had no doubt that if the ticket had not been sent, he would have completely forgotten the manager he once knew in Nottingham in a few years.
Now, the ticket in his hand was the witness and maintenance of all their friendship. How fragile …
In fact, Michael did not blame Twain for never calling him and saying nothing other than sending the ticket, because he was the one who betrayed their friendship. But … who asked him to be a father who had lost his son?
"Michael, who is it?" Fiona, who was in the kitchen, could not help but ask when she did not hear any sound for a long time.
"Ah, a boring salesman. He's so annoying. I had a hard time getting rid of him." Michael put the ticket back into the red envelope and put it in his briefcase.
A lousy salesman who went out of his way to sell his ideals to him.
Do you have ideals, Michael?
Of course we like to win. We also like the team to return to the Premier League after this season. We like to become the damn Premier League champions next season. The season after that, we'll be the king of Europe!
His hand paused as he put the envelope with the ticket into his briefcase.
※ ※ ※
It was the last day before they went to Athens, Greece. The team only had a simple training session. The training time was not long and the intensity was not high. The players, who were nervously preparing for the game, got a rare break. They were given half a day off by Twain to go back and relax with their families and women.
Twain believed in the traditional wisdom of China. When coaching a European professional football team, it could also play a huge role.
Tension and relaxation were the ways of the pen and the sword.
Besides, if he did not take half a day off, he would not be able to deal with his own affairs.
Another year had passed, and he had also made some new friends. He no longer had to worry about where the tickets in his hands would go like he did a year ago. Shania, Fasal, Mr. Armani … These people had all received Champions League final tickets sent to them by Twain in the past few days.
After sending out Michael Bernard's ticket, he only had one left. Thinking back to a year ago, when his Forest team broke into the Champions League qualifiers for the first time, he had six tickets in his hands and had nowhere to send them. In the end, he could only take them to Gavin's grave and burn them together.
This time, it was impossible for him to give Gavin a few more tickets to keep as souvenirs.
With the last ticket, he got on the tram to the suburbs. In the afternoon before he left for Athens, he came to send out the last ticket.
He bought a bunch of flowers outside the church and wrote "To Dear Gavin." Twain took the flowers to the small cemetery behind the church.
It was always quiet here. He had been here a few times, and there was no one else but himself. But this time, he saw a person.
The man had his back to him and stood in front of a tombstone.
Twain only glanced at it at first, thinking that maybe it was a stranger who came to mourn a loved one and did not take it to heart. But as he got closer and closer, he realized that the man was standing right where he was going — in front of Gavin Bernard's tombstone.
This was strange. Gavin was resting here, and very few people would come to visit him. Even if someone came, Twain would recognize them at a glance. Today, he stood here with his back to him, but he tilted his head and looked at the man for a long time. He could not match up with anyone in his mind. John was a fat man, and Bill was much thinner than this man. There was also George Wood. Twain was too familiar with the boy's figure to recognize him. So who was this man?
Twain deliberately made his footsteps louder. The man heard the sound and turned his head.
The moment their eyes met, Twain froze.
It was as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt. He stood in place and did not react for a long time.
Who did he see? Although there were some changes, it was indeed that person.
He thought he was hallucinating.
The man standing opposite him was also a little embarrassed and surprised.
It was indeed a little awkward for two old friends who had not seen each other for three years to reunite in such a place.
"I … Am I seeing things, Michael?" Twain asked when he came back to his senses.
Michael Bernard turned and walked over. "I'm surprised to see you here, Tony."
"I'm the one who should say that. I come every year, but you … It's my first time seeing you." Twain's tone was unfriendly. He was still brooding over Michael abandoning them and running away.
How could Michael not hear the meaning in Twain's tone? He smiled bitterly and did not explain.
Twain looked at his old friend in front of him. His face was whiter than before. His chin, which was originally unshaven, had been shaved with a razor until it shone. His hair was meticulously combed and stuck to his scalp. He might have even applied some hair gel or something. He was meticulous. He wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and wore a well-ironed black suit. He looked much more refined.
Twain laughed through his nose. "I almost couldn't recognize you. Is this still the foul-mouthed head of the football fans, Michael Bernard, who drank in the bar all day long? Congratulations. It looks like your new life in America is not bad. "
"Your habit of speaking sarcastically hasn't changed at all, Tony." Michael smiled bitterly again. Seeing his old friend, he seemed to have no other expression other than a bitter smile.
Twain was stunned by his words. In fact, he did not want to speak to Michael like this. But seeing him like this, he did not know why the harsh words came out of his mouth the moment he opened it. He could not stop them. It was as if deep in his heart, he really did intend to do so. There was some kind of emotion gushing out. If he did not vent it, he would feel very uncomfortable.
"It's good that I didn't punch you in the face, Michael." With that, Twain walked around Michael Bernard and placed the bouquet in his hand in front of Gavin's tombstone.
Bernard turned to see him take out another piece of paper from his pocket. It was a ticket.
Twain took out a lighter with his other hand and lit the ticket in front of the tombstone.
Both men were silent in the flames. It was not until the flames were about to lick Twain's fingers that he threw the ticket down. Before it landed, the ticket was burned to ashes in the flames. Then a gust of wind blew through the forest, scattering the pile of ashes into the air.
"Every time you receive a ticket, I'll come here to send Gavin off once. Burn it — this is my way of giving it to him, "Twain said with his back to Michael. "How many times have you received it?"
"Three times."
"I've burned it three times. The first time, six tickets. The second time, two tickets. The third time … it's this one. You see, you have a brand new life. I've also made a lot of new friends who can give away tickets. We've all changed. "He spread his hands." But this one for Gavin, I'll definitely leave it for him. "
"Thank you."
The atmosphere between the two gradually eased.
Twain turned to look at Michael. "Why did you come back this time? Just to see your son? "
"Business trip," Michael replied.
Twain whistled. "What a busy man. Business trip to Nottingham, England? "
"No." Michael shook his head. "Business trip to Athens."
Twain froze for a moment as he watched Michael reach into his suit and pull out a red envelope. He was very familiar with the envelope because it was the club envelope containing the ticket that he had personally sent to Michael.
Michael pulled out a ticket from the envelope.
"I quit my job just to watch this game."
"You're crazy!" Twain yelled. "What about your wife? Will she agree? "
"Of course Fiona won't agree, but she will agree to my business trip."
"You lied to her?" Twain held his head. "You're done for. Your new life is done for."
"That's strange. I thought you'd be happy that I came back to watch the game," Michael said expressionlessly.
"Don't get it wrong, Michael. I want you to come to watch the game, but not if you lose your job and lie to your wife. Do you know why I didn't say anything other than sending the ticket, nor did I call to persuade you to come to watch the game? I was afraid of this day. "He pointed at Michael." It's just a game. "
"It's just a game of football?" Michael asked. "I think you're the one who got it wrong, Tony. This is the Champions League final! "He raised his voice. "The last time I saw Forest break into the Champions League final was in May 1980. Now it's 2007! For me, it's a game that only comes once in 27 years. I can find another job if I lose it. If I let go of such an opportunity, I'm afraid I'll have to wait another 27 years … How many 27 years do I have, Tony? "
Looking at the white hair on Michael's head, Twain did not say anything.
"I'll explain to Fiona. Of course I won't give up on my family. You don't have to worry about that. Why are you always thinking about other people's wives, Tony? "
Twain punched Michael in the chest. "You idiot who doesn't know what's good for you!"
Then he and Michael hugged. "Should I say welcome back, Michael?"
"Up to you. I'm just back to watch the game. I have to go back to America after the game."
"Of course I don't expect you to stay here. You have your life, Michael. That's good. I hope you don't give up on football, and I don't want you to give up on your life. Do you know that? "
Michael Bernard nodded. "I'm no longer a fanatical fan. I know this better than you, Tony."
"That's good, that's good …" Twain murmured.
"Oh yes, when I came, I met George here." Michael Bernard pointed to his feet.
"George Wood?"
"Yes. He's giving Gavin flowers. "
Hearing Michael say this, Twain noticed that there were not two bouquets of flowers in front of Gavin's tombstone, but three.
"Did you guys talk about anything?" he asked.
"No, I nodded to him, and he nodded to me. When he saw me coming, he turned around and left."
Twain thought this was in line with George's personality.
"He's a big star now," Twain said proudly.
Michael nodded. "I know. After I came here, I bought some newspapers and magazines. The local media are all introducing him. He became the captain of the Forest team, was selected for the England team, participated in the World Cup … I can't believe it. "
The two looked back at Gavin's tombstone at the same time.
He was George's first fan. He accurately predicted that George would become a big star one day, but he did not personally wait for that day.
"He still remembers Gavin. I'm grateful to him," Michael whispered.
"No one has ever forgotten Gavin." Twain patted the old man on the shoulder. "You just came back. Have you been to the Forest bar?"
"No."
"Let's go have a few drinks together. The old guys will be happy to see you back, even if it's just one game before you leave."
With that, Twain pulled Michael away from the quiet cemetery.
Three bouquets of flowers were placed side by side in front of the tombstone, gently swaying in the breeze. There were some black spots on the petals, which were the ashes of the burning tickets.
※ ※ ※
Michael Bernard's return surprised Kenny Burns and everyone. They looked at the bespectacled Michael in a different outfit and could not recognize him. It was Fat John who was the first to rush up and hug him. Everyone was convinced that the man in front of them was indeed their former leader, Michael Bernard.
"Welcome back, Michael!" Burns handed him a glass of wine.
"Every time Tony sent you a ticket, I told him, 'Don't even think about it. That guy won't come back.' It looks like I was wrong, but I'm glad I was wrong, "Fat John said emotionally as he hugged Michael. "Michael, we can sing together in the stands again!"
"And beat up those bastards who look down on us together!" Skinny Bill added.
Twain stood to the side and watched the reunion of his good friends with a grin. He was no longer angry at Michael. Just as he said, football was football, and life was life. Everyone had their own path. Not everyone could rely on football to make a living.
"I'm so sorry, John, Bill. But I can only come back to watch this game … "Michael said apologetically.
"That's okay, that's okay." John shook his head. "One game is fine. One game is enough. This is the Champions League final! It's been twenty-seven years, and we can watch the Champions League final together again! "
There were not many people in the bar in the afternoon. Most of them were Michael's old friends. Everyone gathered together and raised their glasses to toast Michael's return.
When everyone was done, they finally noticed Tang En, who was standing at the side.
John turned his head to look at the smiling Twain. "Hey, Tony. I want you to give me a promise. "
Twain raised his eyebrows.
"It's not easy for Michael to come back. This is the first time we can all gather together to watch the Champions League final after twenty-seven years. Do you have the heart to let him come back for nothing? "John turned his head to look around. Everyone shouted.
"That's right! If you lose again, we won't let you off, Tony! "
"I don't care what kind of bullsh * t reason it is this time. You can't lose anyway!"
"You must win! Tony, you said it before. A manager who can't lead a team to win the championship is simply f * cking rotten! If you lose again, I promise you'll hear shouts of 'rotten' every home game! "
"Championship! We won't accept any result other than the championship! "
"We've waited for twenty-seven f * cking years. We're impatient. We don't want to wait any longer!"
For a moment, all kinds of roars rose and fell in the bar, and no other sounds could be heard.
In the face of these fanatical fans, Twain was not in a hurry to speak. He just smiled. When everyone gradually calmed down, he spread his hands and said.
"Does anyone here doubt my desire for victory and the championship? You've all seen how I went from a rookie to where I am now. "
He said he was a rookie, and everyone laughed. It was true. When he first entered this bar to look for a drink, he was surrounded and ridiculed by Michael and the others. At that time, who would have thought that today would come?
"Besides, I've already made a bet with all of Italy. If I lose, I'll jump into the sea. Do you think I'm the kind of coward who'll be willing to embarrass myself in front of the enemy? "
At this moment, Michael suddenly interrupted loudly, "Hey, Tony! I'm very distressed. Of course, we want Nottingham Forest to win the Champions League title, but we also want to see you jump into the sea. What should we do? "
Everyone roared with laughter.
"In your dreams, Michael! You can only choose one! "Twain waved at him.
"Then it's undoubtedly the championship." Michael shrugged.
"I'm the same as you guys. I won't accept any other result other than the championship. Not in the past, not now, and not in the future! "Twain waved his fist forcefully, adopting the posture he used to admonish and encourage the players in the locker room. "I'm telling you, it's ours. No one can take it away from us!"
Everyone whistled excitedly.
Twain raised the wine glass in his hand. "Don't just drink. Give us a toast, guys."
Michael raised his glass high and turned to the people in the bar to shout, "For the championship —"
John raised his glass as well. "For another championship after twenty-seven years —"
Bill was already hoarse. "For the king of Europe —"
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